Shouldn't parody be based on some degree of truth? If so, do people really think that Hillary! and her surrogates are trying to make this an issue? I heard Ferraro's comments. Beyond that, is Hillary! playing the "race card."?

I want Obama to put out the following ad: It's 3 AM in the White House. A red phone rings and Hillary answers. She listens for several seconds as an alarmed look spreads across her face. She takes the phone away from her ear, covers the mouthpiece and in a panic-stricken voice cries, "Bill, Bill, where are you? I don't know what to do....." Fade out to a bedroom in some Virginia suburb where Bill lies snoring beside another woman. Voice over: "In the White House no one hears you when you scream."

Regardless, I think Ferraro's comments were some of the dumbest comments I have ever heard from a politican. Obama is "lucky" to be black because if he weren't black, he wouldn't be in the position he's in. If she actually believes that, then Dan Quayle is not even close to being the dumbest person ever on a national ticket.

1. If Obama were white, I am reasonably sure that he would be doing very well in the primary. As Kevin Drum mentioned, the Democrats have often had serious contenders of Obama's age who were charismatic and inspiring speakers -- eg, JFK, RFK, Gary Hart, Bill Clinton. If Obama were white, he would likely be doing better than he is doing now.

2. Every President from Washington to George W Bush almost certainly would not have been elected if they were not white man (of course, there were tons of other reasons they were elected, but I think it's pretty safe to assume that if any of them were black men or women, they would not have been elected).

This reminds me of Chris Rock's routine about white guys being the most pissed about how bad it is to be white . . . I guess Ferraro proves that white woman are susceptible to the same delusions.

Isn't the point that Obama is doing well based on personal story rather than record? Do you really deny that Obama is popular with many voters primarily because of personal intimacy with civil rights issues and affirmative action. I'll admit that he's also attractive due to talk about post-partisan consensus and apparent smarts, but that does not distinguish him. If he brought the same ideas, but were a white half-term Senator with earlier undistinguished service in state legislature, his inexperience would be a much higher bar in this race.

The message of hope and "yes we can" means a lot more coming from Obama than it would from John Kerry.

I think Ferraro's comments were accurate, but it was incredibly stupid of her to say them. I'm not saying this to whine or complain; every candidate has some intangibles about them that you just mention.

For example, it's "lucky" for McCain that he was a prisoner-of-war, because it gives him a moral authority about war and torture. But it would be fucking stupid for an opposing campaign to say what I just did.

Senator Clinton obviously wouldn't be in this race if she were a man, because she wouldn't be Former First Lady Clinton. That's not to her fault or to her credit. It's just the way things are.

Bill Clinton was lucky that the economy in 1991 tanked at the time it did. It doesn't make sense to whine or gloat over it. It's just the way the cards fell.

e - Another Senator with Obama's experience ran in 2004; his name was John Edwards. He was also a much less eloquent speaker than Obama; had flipped-flopped on a bunch of stuff; and had some other liabilities that Obama does not have. Obama also had more political experience at the state level. Nevertheless, he placed a strong second in the primaries. So, I am pretty sure Obama would be doing just as well -- if not better -- right now if he were white. He likely would not have the same level of African American support (especially in light of his opponent's previous strong support in that community), but he certainly would have gotten more white support. Look at the numbers on white voters in Southern states -- they are still heavily against Obama even in the Dem primary.

Another person of similar experience, by the way, was George W. Bush --- he had less than six years of experience at the state level, in a state that has a very weak executive, and that was it. Now, the symbolism of being a governor is looked at as "more experience," but in reality, Obama has more political experience than W had in 2000. (Now, Obama will never make this argument, because he does not want to say that he will be like Bush.)

As to Dan Weber: Do you really agree Obama would not be a serious contender if he were a white male? Really?!? If you actually think, I am reasonably certain you will conclude that Obama would be in a better position were he white -- this is beyond doubt in the general election.

Wasn't Obama's mother White? At least she looks white in the pictures I see on the internet.

If so, why isn't Obama characterized as mixed race? Why is he any more "black" than he is "white? Isn't it racist that someone can be black when there's no more blackness in his genes that whiteness. This is not a joking question. Seriously, what gives?

In the U.S. if you are mixed black and white, then you are black. My college roomate's father was a Lithuanian jew and his mother was a black woman from St. Kitts. In the U.S., for almost any practical purpose, that made him black -- a black jew, but still primarily black.

The only mixed race we seem to endorse is White Asian. Black Asian still equals black. Or do you think most people think of Tiger Woods primarily as being "mixed"?

In various parts of the country including N. Indiana where I grew up, the "one drop" rule seems to be in full force and effect. Who knows what the De minimus rule is for affirmative action, bureaucratic rulings? self identification? As a wise man, Robert Heinlein, once wrote, "Anyone who claims to know who his ancestors are more than three generations back is taking the short end of a sucker bet." But we have government agencies that get funding for determining just that. More importantly, I was was just blown away by the fact that a black man could not only run in a presidential primary in Mississippi but win. I remember 1968 all to well.

Do you really agree Obama would not be a serious contender if he were a white male? Really?!?

If Obama was white, I don't think he would've won, or even been running for, Illinois's 13th District. I think his race was significant in him being a speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which gave him a national stage.

I don't think this is Obama's "fault" or anything. He's worked with the hand he was dealt, same as Clinton, McCain, or any other politician.

If Obama was white, I don't think he would've won, or even been running for, Illinois's 13th District.

That's a totally separate issue.

I think his race was significant in him being a speaker at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, which gave him a national stage.

There is nothing at all to back this up. I can't remember if there has ever been another black speaker at the convention in that coveted spot (introducing the nominee). The last one I remember was Bill Clinton in 1988, but I guess he was black too. . . .

2) TIGER HIMSELF has said he does NOT self-identify as simply a "black man" but as mixed race.

apparently, his opinion means nothing when race hucksters wanna play their game

"Woods made his remarks on "Oprah," when he was asked if it bothered him to be called an African-American. "It does," he said. "Growing up, I came up with this name: I'm a 'Cablinasian.'" As in Caucasian-black-Indian-Asian. Woods has a black father (or to be precise, if I am interpreting Woods' reported ancestry correctly, a half-black, one-quarter American Indian, one-quarter white father) and a Thai mother (or, with the same caveat, a half-Thai, half-Chinese mother). "I'm just who I am," Woods told Oprah Winfrey, "whoever you see in front of you."

But just "who I am" remained contested ground. According to Time magazine, Woods' coming out as a Cablinasian caused "a mini-racial firestorm ... Woods' remarks infuriated many African Americans who ... see him as a traitor ... Some blacks saw Woods' assertion of a multiracial identity as a sellout that could touch off an epidemic of 'passing.'"

3) the fact is he IS mixed. he has multiracial parents

"Woods has a black father (or to be precise, if I am interpreting Woods' reported ancestry correctly, a half-black, one-quarter American Indian, one-quarter white father) and a Thai mother (or, with the same caveat, a half-Thai, half-Chinese mother). "I'm just who I am," Woods told Oprah Winfrey, "whoever you see in front of you."

but don't let facts get in the way. after all, whitey just uses facts to oppress people of color like tiger.

2) TIGER HIMSELF has said he does NOT self-identify as simply a "black man" but as mixed race.

apparently, his opinion means nothing when race hucksters wanna play their game

"Woods made his remarks on "Oprah," when he was asked if it bothered him to be called an African-American. "It does," he said. "Growing up, I came up with this name: I'm a 'Cablinasian.'" As in Caucasian-black-Indian-Asian. Woods has a black father (or to be precise, if I am interpreting Woods' reported ancestry correctly, a half-black, one-quarter American Indian, one-quarter white father) and a Thai mother (or, with the same caveat, a half-Thai, half-Chinese mother). "I'm just who I am," Woods told Oprah Winfrey, "whoever you see in front of you."

But just "who I am" remained contested ground. According to Time magazine, Woods' coming out as a Cablinasian caused "a mini-racial firestorm ... Woods' remarks infuriated many African Americans who ... see him as a traitor ... Some blacks saw Woods' assertion of a multiracial identity as a sellout that could touch off an epidemic of 'passing.'"

3) the fact is he IS mixed. he has multiracial parents

"Woods has a black father (or to be precise, if I am interpreting Woods' reported ancestry correctly, a half-black, one-quarter American Indian, one-quarter white father) and a Thai mother (or, with the same caveat, a half-Thai, half-Chinese mother). "I'm just who I am," Woods told Oprah Winfrey, "whoever you see in front of you."

but don't let facts get in the way. after all, whitey just uses facts to oppress people of color like tiger.

e - Another Senator with Obama's experience ran in 2004; his name was John Edwards. He was also a much less eloquent speaker than Obama; had flipped-flopped on a bunch of stuff; and had some other liabilities that Obama does not have. Obama also had more political experience at the state level. Nevertheless, he placed a strong second in the primaries. So, I am pretty sure Obama would be doing just as well -- if not better -- right now if he were white.

I don't understand. You're citing a similarly (un)qualified white guy who did much worse than Obama as evidence that Obama being black doesn't help him? Edwards finished first in two states, one of which being his home state.

(That's not proof that Obama's blackness helps him, but it sure as heck isn't proof that it doesn't.)

Do you really agree Obama would not be a serious contender if he were a white male?

Well, one way to examine this would be to recalculate what the delegate totals would look like if Obama were getting only, say, a third or a half the black vote rather than 90% of it. Hard to imagine that this racial voting would be going on if Obama were identified as a white

That's the problem nowadays - it's really hard to be sarcastic. Because a ridiculous statement that is meant to be sarcastic is too often similar to the excesses of political correctness. Sigh... how I long for the good ol' days.

I think the issue is why is the bizarre counerfactual "if Obama was white" relevant to anything? Every candidate has a personal story which plays a role in the campaign narrative. If Ferraro had simply said that Obama is benefiting from positive attention to the historic nature of his candidacy as the first mainstream African-America candidate, I think many people would point out other obstacles he faces (such as reluctance of older, white voters in the South and the Rust Belt to support a black candidate), but nobody would have called her a racist.

But the way she framed her comments (at least twice about Obama, and once about Jesse Jackson) is extremely demeaning, implying that Obama is just a black novelty act, and people are only voting for him because he is black. She compared it to when Mondale picked her to make history as the first femal vice president, but it's not at all the same thing. No one "picked" Obama to be ahead of the inevitable front-runner who every thought was going to win easily. And her condescending attitude towards him is what many people find offensive.